Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 4-3-09

Wildwood Preservation Society in the news

Fred George Basin Clean-Up
Reported by Kelsey Johnson
WCTV CBS News Tallahassee

Folks from around the capital city gathered to get a little dirty in order to pick up after litterbugs.

The Wildwood Preservation Society and Family Tree teamed up to grab a garbage bag in order to pick up trash that has collected around the Fred George basin.

About fifteen people showed up to lend a helping hand to their community.

"That's my favorite thing is the fact that you can have so much community come together and understand how everything is connected." says Founder of the Wildwood Preservation Society, Misty Penton.

Organizers say cleaning the basin of debris helps to prevent contamination in our drinking water, flooding, and helps protects endangered wildlife that live nearby.


WPS founder Misty Penton with WCTV reporter Kelsey Johnson

FEATURED STORIES

Department of Community Affairs: What happens to Florida if this growth management gatekeeper goes away?
By Craig Pittman
St. Pete Times
Take action: Sign on to Progress Florida’s letter to the legislature
Think of it as the Gatekeeper. When a developer wants to fill in an Everglades marsh, or a condo builder wants to toss up a couple thousand units on a flood-prone beach, local officials may say yes — but the Florida Department of Community Affairs steps in to say, "Whoa."

Neither Chamber Likely to Fund Florida Forever
By Bruce Ritchie
The News Service of Florida via Wakulla.com
Take action: Support Florida Forever
Gov. Charlie Crist and environmentalists said Wednesday they're not giving up on the state's land-buying program despite there being zero money for it so far in the House and Senate versions of the proposed 2009-10 state budget.

Smarten up naval sonar to save the whales
By Jean-Michel Cousteau and Joel R. Reynolds
Christian Science Monitor
The Bush administration may be gone, but whales and other marine life along our coasts will be hearing from it for years to come – literally.

New sugar deal: Crist announces 72,500 acres for $533 million
By Michael C. Bender, Paul Quinlan and Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist still proposes buying a huge swath of U.S. Sugar Corp.'s farmland to save the Everglades.

Nuclear, coal are "clean" energy in Senate bill
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A proposal to require Florida utilities by 2020 to produce at least 20 percent of their electricity from "clean energy" sources including nuclear and coal was approved by a Senate committee today.

Ample evidence Florida's feeling effects of climate change
By Georgia Tasker
Palm Beach Post via Miami Herald
Maybe the fish are on to something. Don Hammond, who catches, tags and releases dolphin-fish (also known as mahi-mahi), says those Florida natives are being hooked in some unusual places.

Florida should end Ponzi scheme based on growth, economist says
By Gimleteye
Eye On Miami
"It is now obvious that the reason we're experiencing a simultaneous meltdown in the financial system and the climate system is because we have been mispricing risk in both arenas-- producing a huge excess of both toxic assets and toxic air that now threatens the stability of the whole planet."


Editorial Cartoon by Jim Morin, Miami Herald

MORE GREEN NEWS

Advocates concerned for bay amidst budget cuts
By Laura Morales
Miami Herald
At least $10 million for water managers to buy endangered Biscayne Bay wetland is gone, and more than $140,000 has been slashed from the Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas program.


Shoreline at Biscayne Bay

Senate Passes Bill on Growth Management
By Bill Kaczor
Lakeland Ledger
Related Palm Beach Post editorial: Keep checks on bad growth
The sponsor of a growth management law intended to curtail urban sprawl apologized because in the real world it had the opposite result as the Senate on Thursday passed a new measure he filed to fix that mistake.

Uproar over Chinese drywall; Floridians say it's making them ill and hurting home values
By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun-sentinel
Homeowners in Florida and other states are mounting a charge against defective Chinese drywall, saying it's making them sick and damaging their homes built during the housing boom.

State urged to win race for energy
By Sara Kennedy
Bradenton Herald
At a time of tremendous urgency in energy policy, states with an “open for business” sign on the door have a chance to create the next generation of jobs and profits in renewable energy, expected to be among the largest new markets on the planet, environmentalists say.

Is energy reform fizzling?
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For two years Gov. Charlie Crist has championed energy reform, saying Florida must turn to alternative and renewable power sources and rely less on coal, gas and oil.

Florida renewable energy lobby opposes 'nuclear' in definition
By Staff Writer
St. Pete Times
The renewable energy lobby — including environmentalists, energy companies and even farmers — called on Florida legislators in a letter sent Friday to pass a strong renewable energy requirement.

Florida Forever? Not this year
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Florida's heralded land-conservation program that has preserved millions of acres of green space during the past two decades is going away — at least for a year.

Swiftmud agrees to swap bear habitat for developer's land
By Jodie Tillman
St. Pete Times
Water district officials Tuesday approved a controversial land swap that gives SunWest Harbourtowne developers 90 acres of bear habitat in exchange for a nearby 400-acre parcel.

Dry weather brings South Florida a bumper crop of wading birds
By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
South Florida's wading birds are resilient. After a dismal nesting season last year, scientists have seen a surge in the number of great egrets, white ibises and endangered wood storks breeding in western Palm Beach County marshes and other parts of the Everglades.

Take Extra Care on Waterways as Manatees Migrate After a Rough Winter
FWC Press Release
Wakulla.com
The FWC urges boaters to follow the posted speed zones and watch for manatees as temperatures warm.

The 30 Year War on the Environment
By Gimleteye
Eye On Miami
Fifty years ago, Rachel Carson wrote the clarion call of the environmental movement, "Silent Spring", and was attacked by the chemical industry.

Don't take away the DCA
By Ernie Padgett
Pensacola News-Journal
Some interesting and negative things are happening in the Legislature relative to the best way to manage growth in Florida.

Don't destroy Florida's key watchdog on growth, land use
Editorial
TC Palm
The state of Florida's key growth management agency is under attack in the 2009 Legislature.

Out of the ground, bottled into profits
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The fresh water beneath Florida is an ever more precious public resource as demand outstrips rainfall's ability to replenish the aquifers.

Endangered in Brevard: White House should rescind Bush-era rules that threaten many species
Editorial
Florida Today
The success of the Endangered Species Act can be seen in our own backyard, where it has helped save animals by protecting the lands and waters where they live.

From brink of extinction
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
If the Endangered Species Act were a polar bear, it would look eviscerated and bleeding on ice.


Fred George Pond, Leon County

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 3-13-09

FEATURED STORIES

Florida moves to ban catching freshwater turtles
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Read the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release here.
The state of Florida moved to ban the commercial catch of freshwater turtles Friday, after reports that vast numbers were being exported to China and other East Asian countries.

Some fear Navy sonar may harm Fla.'s right whales
By Ron Word
Associated Press
In the blue-green surf, 11 endangered North Atlantic right whales surface, jump and shoot mist high into the air through their blow holes.

Water managers to U.S. Sugar: Disclose payments to lobbyists, execs
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post South Florida water managers want U.S. Sugar Corp. to disclose any "success fees" attached to its pending sale of 180,000 acres of farmland to the state.

Lawmakers may bar pre-charging for nuclear plants
By Fred Hiers
Gainesville Sun
Progress Energy customers might not have to worry about helping to pay for the utility's proposed nuclear power plant for the next couple of years.

House, Senate panels OK tax breaks for oil and gas drilling
By Paul Flemming
Tallahassee Democrat
A proposal to get oil and natural gas production going again in the Panhandle and Southwest Florida sailed through House and Senate committees Tuesday.


Florida softshell turtle

MORE GREEN NEWS

Proposal aims at boosting use of electric-powered cars
By Josh Hafenbrack
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The Legislature is taking a step toward giving a Sunshine State boost to the next generation of automobiles: electric-powered cars.

State solar proposal gaining support
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Support is building from diverse corners for a new electricity pricing system in Florida that would allow anyone with roof space or open land to profit from solar energy.

Progress Energy's rate cut on hold till at least April
By Fred Hiers
Ocala Star-Banner
Progress Energy customers will have to wait until at least April before seeing a reduction in their bills.

Amid nuclear worker shortage, FPL says it's following rules
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald
Five times since 2000, operators of U.S. nuclear power plants have been found slumped over their controls asleep, according to federal documents.

Alarm rising over drought's threat to coastal drinking water supplies
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Lake Okeechobee, inundated last fall by Tropical Storm Fay's sopping march across the state, is saving a parched South Florida from tightening its emergency water restrictions amid the third-driest drought since 1932, water managers said today.

Displaced Gopher Tortoises Have Environmentalists Fuming
Central Florida 13 News
Gopher tortoises have environmentalists concerned the reptiles will be buried alive.

Marching Ahead for Better Seagrass Protection
Audubon of Florida
Over half a million acres of seagrass habitat are found in Florida, creating some of the largest underwater meadows in the world.

Sea of trouble: state leaders must do more to protect our oceans and waterways
Editorial
Florida Today
The bounty and beauty of the sea is what makes us who we are along the Space Coast.

Poll finds Florida voters split on proposed U.S. Sugar land deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Floridians are divided -- at best -- on Gov. Charlie Crist's bid to buy U.S. Sugar's farms for $1.34 billion, according to a new poll commissioned by a group fighting the deal.

Survey: Floridians would support laws to reduce emissions
By Stephen D. Price
Tallahassee Democrat
Floridians are concerned about the state's carbon footprint and many would support laws to reduce emissions and require auto manufacturers to sell cars and light trucks that emit fewer harmful greenhouse gases, according to a recent survey.


Critically endangered right whale and calf

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 12-12-08

FEATURED STORIES

Saving the Fred George Basin
Reported by Liza Park
WCTV CBS News Tallahassee
Environmentalists have been working for two years to save what's left of the Fred George Basin and Tuesday night their work paid off.

Biomass hearing draws a crowd
By John Crawford
Tallahassee Democrat
For all intents and purposes, Wednesday night's public hearing dealing with the proposed BG&E biomass plant was over before it began.

Progress Energy plans nuclear power plant north of Tampa
By Alex Pickett
Creative Loafing Tampa
Related Tampa Tribune article: Progress Energy rate hike generates controversy
Florida doesn't get much more rural than Levy County.

Refusing to save Florida's springs
Editorial
Ocala Star-Banner
In each of the past three years an influential state lawmaker has introduced a bill into the Florida Legislature to initiate a meaningful springs protection program.

Bush revises protections for endangered species
By Dina Cappiello
Associated Press
Just six weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, the Bush administration issued revised endangered species regulations Thursday to reduce the input of federal scientists and to block the law from being used to fight global warming.

Florida's imperiled species struggling to survive
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
A very quiet drama is playing out in Florida as rare grasshopper sparrows and snail kites face extinction while panthers, black bears and bald eagles find new hope after a once-uncertain future.




MORE GREEN NEWS

Florida sugar giant decries rival's Everglades deal
By Craig Pittman
St. Pete Times
Florida's two sugar giants slugged it out in public Friday, arguing over whether Gov. Charlie Crist's proposed buyout of U.S. Sugar is actually a sneaky government bailout of an ailing company.

Farm bureau blasts U.S. Sugar deal; government group expresses concerns
By Jennifer Sorentrue and Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
A major Florida farming group came out today against the state's $1.34 billion land deal with U.S. Sugar Corp. - just days before South Florida water managers are set to vote on the purchase.

Lawmakers seek to postpone vote on sugar deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Miami-Dade lawmakers, with a litany of concerns over state's sugar land-purchase deal, asked for a legislative review.

Crist, Fla. Cabinet OK $7 million land deal
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet have agreed to pay $7 million for a conservation easement in central Florida opposed by an environmental group.

Tallahassee residents debate, learn more about biomass plant
By Angeline J. Taylor
Tallahassee Democrat
Voices in favor of and in opposition to the proposed biomass plant in Tallahassee continued to ring out at different events Monday.

Lawmakers: Cut off energy company's ‘advanced recovery cost’
By Ryan Burr
Panama City News Herald
Two Florida lawmakers on Monday requested Progress Energy Florida Inc. suspend indefinitely its "advanced recovery cost" on customers that was designated to pay for two nuclear power plants.

As U.S. Sugar vote looms, job-fearing Glades residents demand action from Crist
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
With just nine days left until water managers vote on a $1.34 billion land deal aimed at rescuing the Everglades, residents of neighboring farm communities have a question for Gov. Charlie Crist: Who's going to rescue our jobs?

Agencies lower water levels in the Everglades, save wildlife
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
With some help from nature, agencies have dropped water levels in the Everglades and ended the threat of massive wildlife losses.

Growth binge gives Florida a hangover
By Kenric Ward
TC Palm
The development industry is the Viagra of Florida. At least it used to be.

Save the turtle
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Floridians have been trying to save sea turtles since the late University of Florida naturalist Archie Carr began to track their migratory patterns nearly half a century ago.

State Needs Tougher Rules To Protect Softshell Turtles
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Gov. Charlie Crist, who successfully fought plans to take the manatee of the state's endangered list last year, is once again using his influence on behalf of an imperiled Florida creature.


Action alert: Click the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust logo above to learn how you can help ban wild freshwater turtle harvesting.



Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 12-5-08

FEATURED STORIES

Inaccuracies taint Florida environmental consultant's record
By Craig Pittman
St. Pete Times
For years, Florida's largest environmental consulting firm, Biological Research Associates, has helped private companies win government permits to pave over wetlands and destroy wildlife habitat.

NAACP threatening discrimination complaint over Tallahassee biomass proposal
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
An attorney for the NAACP and some residents involved in the biomass Renewable Energy Center controversy have threatened the state with a federal race-discrimination complaint if the project gets a permit.

Biomass plant debate continues in Tallahassee
By John Crawford
Tallahassee Democrat
Related: Biomass firm weighs options
A morning news conference, during which officials with the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and environmental experts from the Sierra Club and the Big Bend Climate Action Team voiced support for a proposed biomass plant, went off without a hitch even though, according to critics, it introduced very little new information.

Nature Conservancy Picking Up Land at Bargains
By Art Levy
Florida Trend
More Florida land that would otherwise be facing heavy development pressure has the potential to wind up in conservation instead — compliments of the real estate slump.


The Nature Conservancy bought 1,000 acres at Blackwater River State Forest for $2.2 million this year from Rayonier. [Photo: Laurie Meehan-Elmer, Florida Trend].


MORE GREEN NEWS

Slow down $1.34 billion sugar deal, critics urge as clock ticks toward deadline
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Related: Private suitor makes formal pitch for U.S. Sugar buyout
Gov. Charlie Crist's blockbuster plan to repair the Everglades by buying U.S. Sugar Corp.'s farmlands for $1.34 billion ran into a litany of sharp questions and criticism today - threatening to send all parties back to the negotiating table.

Planning law hasn't prevented Fla. growing pains
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
It seemed like a good idea for controlling urban sprawl: Require ample road capacity be in place before a new neighborhood or commercial development could be built.

FPL power plant protesters convicted of seven misdemeanor counts
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 5, 2008 Defense attorneys tried to convince a jury that seven people broke the law out of necessity, to defend the public against environmental havoc and corporate carelessness.

Report: State may top Crist's renewable energy goal
Associated Press
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A report delivered to state regulators says Florida can exceed Gov. Charlie Crist's goal for using renewable energy but only if everything goes right.

Fla. PSC approves $1.57 a month FPL rate cut
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Power & Light Co. customers will see a small decrease in their bills after state regulators approved a fuel rate adjustment Tuesday.

FWC adjourns two-day meeting in Key West
WCTV News Tallahassee
The agenda focused on boating issues, including proposed legislation on statutes related to vessels and vessel registration

Tiny exotic beetles threaten Florida crops
By Georgia Tasker and Charles Rabin
Miami Herald
Guacamole lovers, beware: An Asian beetle half the size of a rice grain is spreading a fungus fatal to avocados and red bay trees and is working its way south, toward 6,500 acres of avocados in Miami-Dade County.

Florida Should Demand Clean, Efficient Vehicles
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
Automobile lobbyists argue proposed tough state emissions standards for cars and trucks will cripple the beleaguered industry and prove costly for consumers.

Construction to start on innovative solar plant
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
December 2, 2008
Florida Power and Light will soon start construction on the first of three solar power projects that will eventually make the state No. 2 in the nation for energy from the sun.

Climate change increases problems for Florida reefs
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Despite new federal protections, Elkhorn Coral may disappear from the waters off the coast of South Florida

Hurricane season relatively kind to Fla.
By Paul Flemming
Tallahassee Democrat
From Tropical Storm Arthur to Hurricane Paloma, there were 16 named storms, eight hurricanes and 800 deaths in North America and the Caribbean.

Stiffer Emission Rules Proposed
By Lindsay Peterson
Tampa Tribune
State officials return to the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission next week to argue that Florida should adopt California's tough emission standards for cars and light trucks.

Sun, wind energy potential high, but so is price
By Asjylyn Loder
St. Pete Times
If money were no object, Florida could meet nearly all of its energy needs with sun and wind alone.

Crist wisely steps in to save turtles
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has demonstrated more than once that he is a responsible steward of the state's natural resources.
Editorial
St. Pete Times


Click the logo above to visit the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust website.



Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 11-28-08

FEATURED STORIES

Vehicles, budget threaten Florida panthers
An uncollared male Florida panther was killed by a car shortly after sunset Wednesday on Alico Road.
By Ryan Hiraki
Ft. Myers News-Press

Movement building to save turtles
As state wildlife officials mull new restrictions on harvesting the reptiles, Gov. Charlie Crist has joined a chorus supporting a ban on commercial turtle fishing in fresh water.
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union

What's Killing Florida's Coral Reefs?
The disaster in south Florida is invisible from above water but the damage is horrific.
By Hector Florin
Time Magazine


MORE GREEN NEWS

Restore The Everglades, But Double-Check Numbers
The ambitious proposal for Florida to buy U.S. Sugar land could finally ensure the survival of the Everglades, the hydrological heart of South Florida. So the importance of the proposal can hardly be overstated.
Editorial
Tampa Tribune

Water managers have 3-week deadline to sign $1.34 billion U.S. Sugar deal
South Florida water managers have just three weeks to sign off on their contract to buy nearly all of U.S. Sugar's farmland for $1.34 billion - the centerpiece of Gov. Charlie Crist's plans to restore the Everglades and the most expensive conservation land purchase in Florida history.
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post

Solar power costlier for Florida than nuclear, report finds
In a much anticipated report that could affect every Floridian's pocketbook, a consultant hired by the state says solar power could be a competitive source of electricity by 2020 in many scenarios, but it will cost considerably more than new nuclear power and natural gas, the main sources of power for present customers of Florida Power & Light.
By John Dorschner
Miami Herald

Conservationists call for ban on freshwater turtle catches
For years, Jones Fish House bought turtles from fishermen, cleaned them and sold the meat alongside the catfish that brims from its glass cases.
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post

Save environment, save money
On a brisk morning warmed gently by the sun, more than a dozen houseboats and a handful of powerboats sat idly in the St. Johns River waiting for guests to arrive.
By Sandra Frederick
Daytona Beach News-Journal

Reduce price of sugar land
Before the South Florida Water Management District board considers the $1.34 billion proposal to buy U.S. Sugar's land for Everglades restoration, the board must renegotiate the price lower and find out whether the seller even would be U.S. Sugar.
Editorial
Palm Beach Post

Florida Vs. Georgia
Georgia's Gov. Sonny Perdue is hopping mad over Florida's lawsuit to keep his state from grabbing so much upstream water to feed Atlanta's growth.
Editorial
Lakeland Ledger

All-out ban needed on softshell turtle harvesting, and quickly
When state wildlife officials were poised to tinker with the manatee's conservation protections, Gov. Charlie Crist stepped in with a plea not to risk the sea cow's survival.
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Florida Forever Acquisition Protects Civil War Battlefield
Governor Crist and Cabinet today approved the purchase of 54.74 acres of land adjacent to the Natural Bridge Historic State Park in Leon County.
Press Release
Wakulla.com

Turtle harvest assailed
Fishing for softshell turtles has been a source of income for William Shockley and his family for three generations in the rural Central Florida town of Okeechobee.
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Pinellas should buy Walmart's Tarpon Springs property for parkland
Walmart's unexpected announcement Friday that it has put its controversial Tarpon Springs supercenter project on hold opens the door to a great opportunity.
Related: Wal-Mart puts a hold on plans for supercenter
Editorial
St. Pete Times






Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 11-14-08

FEATURED STORIES

Contaminated sugar fields could add millions to Everglades cleanup costs
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
More than half the land the state is poised to acquire from sugar growers has levels of pollution that could harm wildlife and cost tens of millions of dollars to clean up.

West Kendall Community Council approves controversial development
By Xavier A. Martinez
Miami Herald
In a 5-1 vote, the West Kendall Community Council passed a motion Monday recommending approval of the controversial Lennar led Parkland 2018 development, a 6,841 residential unit community estimated to eventually be the home for 18,000 people in Southwest Miami-Dade.

Climate change threatens Florida's drinking water supply
By Asjylyn Loder
St. Pete Times
If climatologists are right, Florida's future could be a thirsty one: Climate change, blamed for eating away at Florida's coastline, is also quietly encroaching on the state's drinking water.

Bush makes last-minute environmental deregulation push
By Renee Schoof
McClatchy News Service
Miami Herald
In the next few weeks, the Bush administration is expected to relax environmental-protection rules on power plants near national parks, uranium mining near the Grand Canyon and more mountaintop-removal coal mining in Appalachia.


White Ibis in Everglades National Park.


MORE GREEN NEWS

Florida and U.S. Sugar Revamp Everglades Deal
By Damien Cave
New York Times
Gov. Charlie Crist and the United States Sugar Corporation are close to an agreement that would scale back the state’s ambitious purchase of the company to gain a wide swath of land for Everglades restoration, environmental groups close to the negotiations said Monday.

U.S. Sugar deal draws water managers' concern
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Related: Florida-Big Sugar deal boosts towns, firm
The governor may be sweet on the new Big Sugar deal, but the water managers he appointed still have plenty of reservations.

Is deal enough to save Glades?
By Kate spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
In front of the home where Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote the famous book that dubbed the Everglades a River of Grass, environmental advocates, water managers and sugar producers on Wednesday applauded Gov. Charlie Crist's latest, less costly plan to buy U.S. Sugar land and save the national treasure.

U.S. Sugar: Reduced $1.3B Everglades deal will save tax dollars, 1,700 jobs
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
From five months of intense negotiation amid a global economic quake, a deal emerged after all: Florida will buy nearly all of U.S. Sugar's farmland - a tract nearly the size of New York City - for $1.34 billion to restore the Everglades, the company announced today.

FWC undercover investigation nets multi-million-dollar marine-life theft ring
Press Release
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
A six-month undercover investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has led to the arrest of eight members of a Tampa Bay area crime ring, engaged in a multi-million-dollar scheme to illegally exploit and export the state’s marine resources.

FPL customers pay for others' mistakes
Editorial
Miami Herald
If a bad employee makes a costly error -- whether intentional or not -- there isn't much mystery about who will pay for the damage.

Progress Energy can hike rates 25%
Associated Press
Orlando Sentinel
Progress Energy, a key electricity provider in Central Florida, received approval to boost rates 25 percent, the largest in a series of approvals Wednesday

Officials say increase in sea turtle nests locally
By Valli Finney
Naples News
A dramatic increase in the number of loggerhead sea turtle nests locally is good news.

Ga. governor questions Fla. argument in water wars
By Brendan Farrington
Associated Press
Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue looks at his state's pristine coastline and then at the development Florida allows on its shores and said he wonders how Florida officials can preach about the environment.

High court sides with Navy on sonar use
By Bo Petersen
Charleston Post and Courier
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday might have torpedoed environmental opposition to proposed Navy sonar ranges off the East Coast.

Florida hoteliers key in on green
By Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
Not that you should do this at the next hotel you visit, but you could flush a potato down the toilet without fear of it stopping it up if the toilet is like the water-saving model on display at the first-ever Florida Green Lodging Conference in Gainesville.

Does $11.5M Econlockhatchee deal cross the line?
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
The Econlockhatchee River is an imperiled environmental treasure and a designated barrier east of Orlando that developers aren't supposed to cross.

Rarity of One Hawk Species Mysterious
By Tom Palmer
Lakeland Ledger
First time I saw a short-tailed hawk was 25 years ago at Flamingo in Everglades National Park.

2006 vandalism at FPL nuclear plant raises concern about worker screenings
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Information unveiled this week raises troubling questions about a 2006 act of vandalism at Florida Power & Light Co.'s Turkey Point nuclear power plant - vandalism that has already cost utility customers $6.2 million

Loggerhead sea turtles: Thriving or declining?
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
It was a better season in Florida for loggerhead sea turtles, with more nests dug at many beaches than last year.

Disease imperils iconic native palms
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A deadly bacteria that is killing imported, high-maintenance palms decorating Florida landscapes now threatens the ubiquitous sabal palm, emblazoned on the state seal.

New try at state birding
By Mark Lane
Daytona Beach News-Journal
In most places, using a state symbol as a civics teaching tool would be a simple, noncontroversial thing to do. But this is Florida. There are political traps one can't foresee.

Bald eagles at risk again in Florida
Opinion
Pensacola News-Journal
When I found a bird with a broken wing several years ago, I gently scooped it into a box and took it to the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida at its former location near Midway.


Bald Eagle in flight over Kennedy Space Center.



Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 11-7-08

FEATURED STORIES

Audubon of Florida Lauds Passage by Florida Voters of Amendment 4
Press Release
Audubon of Florida
Constitutional Amendment 4 will conserve Florida's water resources and wildlife habitats by providing tax incentives to private landowners who manage their land for conservation.

Battle looms on development push to the edge of the Everglades
By Matthew Haggman
Miami Herald
Related: West Kendall council moves along Parkland project
Fireworks are expected at the first hearing on a controversial proposal to move the Urban Development Boundary to build a town on West Miami-Dade farmland.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Florida Crystals looks to expand violation-plagued power plant
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Florida Crystals, already one of the nation's largest sugar producers, wants to play a bigger part in developing renewable energy by expanding the power plant it has used since 1995 to turn leftover sugar cane into electricity.

Co-op wants slice of land from U.S. Sugar buyout
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
The smallest of Florida's three major sugar companies wants a piece of the 187,000 acres the state is negotiating to purchase in its $1.75 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar Corp.

The Division of Florida
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
The US presidential campaign has only addressed in generic terms the wreckage caused by Wall Street, the absence of financial regulation and the wages of greed, and not at all how that feeding tube connects locally: too many platted subdivisions in farmland and wetlands and condos barricading Florida's coasts.

FPL asks to raise rates by 7 percent
By Julie Patel
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Florida Power & Light Co. customers could see their monthly electric bills increase by more than 7 percent next year if the state approves the utility's environmental, fuel and energy conservation fees totaling almost $7.3 billion.

Early turtle roundup upbeat
By Michelle Spitzer
Florida Today
Despite Tropical Storm Fay and bouts of strong wind, sea turtle nesting season ended Friday with encouraging results.

Saving a vanishing species
By Georgia Tasker
Miami Herald
Exploring South Florida and the Caribbean with his notebook and camera in the early 20th century, the botanist John Kunkle Small, with the New York Botanical Garden, hiked through vast areas of botanical richness.




Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 10-31-08

Lennar push to move Dade's development line criticized
By Matthew Haggman
Miami Herald
Days before a group led by home builder Lennar launches an effort to win government approval for a new suburb on Miami-Dade County's western fringe, two of Miami's most prominent developers said the project should be rejected.

What the Everglades needs
Palm Beach Post
Editorial
The latest update on Everglades restoration contained nothing new, which should make the issue a priority for the state's new congressional delegation.

Oil drilling splits presidential field
By Jim Waymer
Florida Today
Whoever wins the White House, Florida's air and water stand to gain more protection than in the past eight years, if the budget allows it, environmental advocates say.

Coconut Creek suburbanites team with neo-hippies to fight Lowe's
By Amy Guthrie
Broward New Times
Brian Sprinkle dismounts from a blue ten-speed with a warm smile on his face.

Fla. panel delays tougher auto emission standards
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Bowing to the auto industry and other business interests, a state panel Wednesday delayed a vote on adopting California's tough standards for car and light truck emissions.

Amendment 4 would give conserved land a tax break
By Melissa Nelson
Associated Press
Gulf County Commissioner Billy Traylor says he is supporting Amendment 4 on Tuesday's ballot because he prefers the tiny fishing villages and pine tree farms of his rural county to the widespread development of South Florida.

FWC to hold workshop in Tampa on freshwater turtle harvests
North Florida Daily News
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will begin hearing input on the harvest of Florida's freshwater turtles.

Plans For "Mahan Massacre" Withdrawn (includes video)
WCTV News Tallahassee
Following a resounding recommendation against approval by The Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) the proposed 'Mahan Massacre' development has been withdrawn prior to a final vote scheduled tomorrow before the Leon County Commission.

Leaders gather to support St. Johns cleanup plan
By Deirdre Conner
Florida Times-Union
Gov. Charlie Crist and other major players in the health of the St. Johns River gathered at its banks Monday to promote a sweeping plan to improve its health.

More water than we can use
By Doug Sword
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
During the height of the building boom, fear of a growing water shortage helped push through plans for a $128 million expansion of the region's key source of drinking water.

Turtle protection plan spurs debate in Florida
By Susan Cocking
Miami Herald
William Shockley and his teenage son are fishing for freshwater turtles the same way their family has done it for four generations in south-central Florida: deploying about a mile of nylon line on four sets of buoys holding 1,000 small hooks baited with bits of bacon in the clear, shallow waters of Lake Grassy.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"